Sunday, October 20, 2013

Visit with future farmers

We had a visit on Wednesday from an agricultural marketing club at Illinois State University. Their project this year is to create a marketing plan for the American Guinea Hog, and they were referred to me by the Livestock Conservancy as being a breeder near them. Since I am very interested in educating future farmers, as well as promoting rare breeds, I was more than happy to have them come over to meet our hogs and see our farm.

We had a great visit! Not only was it the first time they had seen guinea hogs in person, it was also the first time most of them had seen pigs on pasture, as well as pigs that were being raised naturally, meaning they had never been injected with anything and they still had their tails. Supermarket hogs in this country are raised in big buildings and have their teeth and tails clipped at birth. They are also given iron injections and a number of routine vaccines, as well as antibiotics in their feed. Our pigs get none of that -- and thrive.

Although some of the students were quiet and reserved, a few seemed really excited about the guinea hogs and our way of raising them. The students will be putting together their marketing plan towards the end of this semester, which I am really excited about! It will be interesting to see how people with backgrounds in conventional agriculture promote virtues in a hog that is the polar opposite of everything in commercial ag today. And of course, it would be really exciting if even one of these students decided to raise guineas hogs someday!

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Welcome!

In 2002, my professor-husband, three kids, and I left the Chicago suburbs to live the adventure that Thoreau never imagined on a 32-acre homestead on a creek in the middle of nowhere. As clueless city slickers, we made a lot of mistakes, learned a little, and had a lot of fun. Even though the children have grown up and left home, Mike and I are still here, making some mistakes, learning more, and having tons of fun. If it sounds like a frontier version of Gilligan's Island ... well, sit right back and you'll hear a tale of goat birthing, gardening woes, coyote problems, food from the farm, housebuilding progress, and whatever happens to be happening around here.

Deborah Niemann

and Mary Poppins the goat

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